Taboo Mage - Chapter 223 - Doubt

The familiar and pleasant ringtone echoed in my ear. I glanced at Zhou Qifang’s phone screen in my hand, which displayed my phone number.

Then, I used my own phone to call that number, and Zhou Qifang’s phone rang too.

I looked at the phone in my hand and then checked Zhou Qifang’s phone screen again. Lin Huan, who was next to me, finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

I shot a fierce glare at Lin Huan. This little brat dared to make fun of me!

However, I had to admit that I was being impulsive. When I heard the ringtone, I didn’t think much of it; I just felt frustrated that Zhou Qifang had tricked me again.

I genuinely considered him a good friend, yet he deceived me? All my rationality and principles were shattered by that thought, leaving me unable to think straight.

“Can you give my phone back now?” Zhou Qifang said coldly, extending his hand toward me.

I smiled a little sheepishly and handed the phone back to Zhou Qifang.

“So, what do we do now?” Zhou Qifang put his phone back together, clearly not intending to address my question.

I recognized my mistake but didn’t want to make things awkward, so I shifted my gaze to Jue Chi.

At critical moments, Jue Chi seemed to drift off into his own world, and as expected, he was lost in thought again.

Beside us, Xu Benzhang looked around at everyone present and whispered, “Boss Gu… so what about our situation…”

I glanced at him and realized that the most pressing issue was how to deal with the Xu family and the old lady. As for that phone call, I could investigate it when I had more time.

I lowered my head and saved the number from the phone into my contacts, then spoke solemnly, “This is tricky. It’s my first time encountering anything related to animal spirits possessing humans; for now, we can only try something temporarily.”

“Alright! As long as there’s a way, I’m willing to try anything!” Xu Benzhang’s face turned red with excitement, and he almost jumped off the ground.

I asked Xu Benzhang and Old Lady Xu to rest in the living room for a while, and then I took Zhou Qifang, Jue Chi, and Lin Huan to the storage room.

The storage room was filled with everything I needed to make life amulets. I brought them in not only to see what materials were prepared but also to discuss how to handle this situation.

Jue Chi didn’t have any objections, stating that he would fully cooperate, so that was one less thing for me to worry about.

Zhou Qifang didn’t say anything more. I briefly outlined my thoughts, essentially stating that we couldn’t choose an aggressive exorcism method for this spirit.

After all, the Xu family and the old lady had already wronged that dog. If we wanted to successfully send the dog’s spirit away, we had to choose to communicate with it face-to-face.

But how do humans communicate with animals? I pondered for quite some time before finally deciding to bring the little fox back as a trial.

Although the little fox wasn’t a dog, it was at least much closer on the evolutionary scale, which would provide them with more common ground for conversation.

After that, Zhou Qifang and I stayed behind to prepare materials, while Jue Chi stepped into the living room to keep an eye on the Xu family’s old lady, ensuring no last-minute troubles arose.

Lin Huan drove back home directly to fetch the little fox.

There wasn’t much to prepare; we needed the usual essentials like glutinous rice and red string. As for the black dog blood… it was from a dead dog, and if the spirit saw that it was being exorcised with the blood of its own kind, it might only provoke its anger further.

So, I chose to forgo the black dog blood, but I couldn’t think of any suitable alternatives for the time being.

Zhou Qifang, rummaging through the storage room, said, “There’s a method in Bangkok that’s similar to using black dog blood for exorcism in China.”

“What is it?” I felt a glimmer of hope and quickly asked.

Zhou Qifang replied, “Red spider lily.”

“Red spider lily? Can that really exorcise spirits?” I frowned, looking skeptically at Zhou Qifang.

While red spider lilies exist in China, it was the first time I had heard they could be used for exorcism.

Moreover, if red spider lilies truly had exorcising properties, with the extensive history of spiritual studies in China spanning thousands of years, how could there be no records of it?

Zhou Qifang merely glanced at me before saying, “Ordinary red spider lilies won’t do, but if you combine them with something that belongs to the Zhou family, then it’s a different story.”

“What is that something?” I pressed on eagerly.

Zhou Qifang shot me an annoyed look. “I told you it’s a family heirloom; do you think I would just casually reveal it? Believe it or not, it’s up to you. I’ve said my piece, and don’t come running to me later.”

This guy! Why did he have to get all proud at such a crucial moment? I wondered who spoiled him with this attitude.

“Fine, I’ll trust you just this once. It’s just red spider lilies! I’ll go find some right now!”

The red spider lily was something I would typically find difficult to deal with, but this time it was different. To save Uncle Qin, I had once used red spider lilies, and he had directly taken me to a manjusaka estate.

I wondered if the manjusaka flowers at that estate were still in bloom or if they had already wilted.

As I spoke, Zhou Qifang stayed behind to continue organizing the materials, while I stepped out to call Uncle Qin.

The phone was answered quickly, and I didn’t waste any time telling him what I needed. Uncle Qin informed me that I would need to contact the owner of the estate, and he would call me back in half an hour.

After hanging up, I leaned against the balcony railing, watching the people in the living room.

Jue Chi had been quietly sitting on the sofa, keeping his distance from Xu Benzhang and the old lady. Although Jue Chi was a monk with high Taoist cultivation, he wasn’t genuinely committed to helping everyone indiscriminately.

This monk acted according to his own preferences and judgments of right and wrong.

At least I could clearly sense that Jue Chi had a neutral stance on the issues involving the Xu family; he neither opposed them nor supported them.

Buddhism advocates for loving all beings, but Xu Benzhang and his mother had harmed an innocent life for their selfish desires, even leaving it with no remains at all.

To Jue Chi, such actions were more cruel than any other.

Meanwhile, Xu Benzhang and his mother seemed to be quite relaxed.

Perhaps knowing that we would come up with a solution to save them, Xu Benzhang was now sprawled casually on the sofa, his legs resting on my coffee table, exuding a completely rogue demeanor that was a far cry from his usual appearance in a suit.